THE Indonesian navy says it has found a group of 20 stranded asylum seekers whose boat was apparently turned back by Australian authorities.
The discovery follows Prime Minister Tony Abbott postponing a meeting with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that was scheduled for Tuesday.
The federal government blames the imminent budget for the change of heart over the Bali meeting.
But it's understood the government feared the embarrassment that would have been caused by the meeting as Australian officials were engaging in a policy that angers Indonesia.
The Indonesian Navy on Monday night released a statement saying it had found a group of asylum seekers - 16 Indians, two Nepalese and two Albanians.
The group told Naval officers they had left from South Sulawesi on April 26 without the two Albanians.
They say they were met by two Australian vessels near Ashmore Reef on Thursday.
They were escorted to Indonesian territory where on Sunday, the Albanians and one Indonesian got on board, and the Australian boat parted ways with them.
Their boat ran out of fuel and stranded on Lay Island in East Nusa Tenggara where the Indonesian naval officers found them.
Most are men aged in their 20s, the officers say.
The Bali meeting could have made meaningful progress towards mending ties with Indonesia following last year's spy scandal.
Mr Abbott's office announced the postponement late on Friday, after The West Australian newspaper reported authorities were headed to waters between Java and Ashmore Reef to intercept an asylum vessel.
The government wouldn't confirm the "turnback" operation.
Its Operation Sovereign Borders policy has complicated the relationship with Indonesia further.
Indonesia's Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro on Monday again urged Australia not to act unilaterally while joint border patrols remained suspended.
"We want Australia to be wiser in dealing with the issue," he said, as quoted by Indonesia's Antara news agency.
"We feel that they must be done correctly and we appeal to the government of Tony Abbott to understand our stance."
